KUALA LUMPUR: With a primary focus on boosting economic growth and improving people's standard of living, the 2024 Budget introduces various initiatives and incentives for Malaysians to enjoy and benefit from throughout this year.
The government's move to introduce the Central Database Hub (Padu), which is slated to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow, will ensure government aid reaches its target groups without marginalising any party.
Geostrategy expert Prof Dr Azmi Hassan pointed out that the 2024 Budget is set to provide various incentives to the people, highlighting the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) as the most beneficial among them.
"In line with the 2024 Budget objective, which is to empower the people, I find that STR stands as the most effective incentive because people currently need cash to spend on their necessities.
"From an economic perspective, when people receive STR, they will spend the money, thus creating more demand for goods and fostering a favourable economic cycle," the senior fellow of the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research told Bernama.
Therefore, Azmi hoped that if this year's economic performance outshines the previous year, the government would consider increasing the STR rate so that it could continue to assist in reducing the people's burden.
Through the 2024 Budget, the maximum rate for STR will increase from RM3,100 to RM3,700 this year, while the minimum STR rate for youths will be raised from RM350 to RM500.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) Business School economic analyst associate professor Dr Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid said the 2024 Budget focuses on the government's fiscal policy to stimulate the domestic economy and reach the four to five per cent gross domestic product (GDP) target for this year.
"The budget is designed to focus on domestic economic growth through the provision of aid to micro, small, and medium enterprises and cash assistance to help people deal with the cost of living, which will provide a direct economic injection into the domestic economy," he said.
He added that the implementation of targeted subsidies through Padu is capable of preventing wastage and ensuring that government aid is distributed to deserving groups in a fair and equal manner.
"The unity government has implemented targeted subsidies in stages, beginning with the Haj quota as well as electricity tariffs for domestic and commercial users last year, and will continue to implement targeted subsidies for other essential items in 2024.
"This demonstrates the government's strong commitment not only to restructuring the supply chain, but also to eradicating cartels and curbing rampant smuggling," said Aimi Zulhazmi.
The government has introduced various incentives through the 2024 Budget, which was tabled by the Prime Minister in October last year, such as the early incentive payment of RM2,000 to all civil servants in Grade 56 and below, including those on contract and the capping of registration fees for admission into public universities at RM1,500.
Other incentives are the RM1.2 billion allocation in various forms of assistance for people with disabilities, including aid for caring for the chronically ill and bedridden, unemployment benefits and allowances for those who work. – BERNAMA